


You Got Me and I Got You (and She Got Us)

by TheMipstaz



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Allison Argent/Lydia Martin, F/F, Happy Ending, Minor Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Minor Isaac Lahey/Scott McCall, Multi, Open Relationships, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-15
Updated: 2016-04-15
Packaged: 2018-06-02 08:38:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6559630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMipstaz/pseuds/TheMipstaz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cora Hale hates her job, but not for the reasons you might think.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Got Me and I Got You (and She Got Us)

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted [here](http://nevergooutofstiles.tumblr.com/post/141146274820/allisoncoralydia-coffeshop-au-for-march16th-day). Title modified from [Gold](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvGHtcjQZec) by The Wanted.

Cora Hale hates her job, but not for the reasons you might think. It’s not because of the atrocious 7 o’clock morning rush; or the slimy businessmen who leer, “Won’t you smile for me, darling?” until Laura chases them away with a growl; or even the disgusting way her older brother flirts with the mole-speckled college boy—Stuart? Stiles?—who comes in every other day and orders the same diabetes-inducing, tooth-rotting disaster of a coffee. 

No, the reason Cora detests her job is because of the two gorgeous girls who arrive hand in hand every Saturday at 10 on the dot: Allison and her girlfriend Lydia. They’re so fucking in love it makes Cora want to puke. She narrows her eyes at Allison’s dimples and scowls at Lydia’s plush, red lips and purses her lips at how stunning they look together. 

Isaac warns her that if she rolls her eyes any harder, they’ll probably get stuck in the back of her head. Cora snarks back that Isaac can give her advice once he finally finds the balls to ask out the crooked-jawed best friend that accompanies Stiles 9 times out of 10. 

Erica laughs at Isaac’s flushed face, Boyd gives Cora a stern look, and life goes on. 

Until the day Cora finds a phone number scribbled on the receipt Lydia slides over while picking up her and Allison’s order. Cora does her best not to gape, raising an eyebrow to try and mask the way her heart just leapt into her throat. 

“Sweetheart, if you’re going to keep staring, I’m going to have to start charging,” Lydia smirks while Cora blushes furiously. “Or take you out.” 

“Sorry,” Cora snaps back, crumpling the paper in her shaking fist, “I don’t date taken girls.” _Even if they’re as cute as you_ , her mind supplies unhelpfully. “I don’t find cheating attractive.” Cora finds her eyes drawn to the window where she can see Allison sitting at an outdoor table. She plays with her phone, completely oblivious to Lydia chatting up a stranger. 

Lydia blinks, looking taken aback.

Cora bites down the intense devastation welling up inside her at the realization that Lydia is the type of person willing to flirt with another girl when her girlfriend is literally 20 feet away. She whirls on her heel before Lydia can gather her bearings and say anything else to shatter Cora’s hope into smaller pieces. Cora yells, “Laura, I’m taking my break!” as she storms off into the back despite Lydia calling after her. 

She doesn’t come back until Isaac has sworn 5 times that Lydia and Allison have left. 

* * *

Cora takes the next couple days off. She didn’t realize just how much she’d come to enjoy Lydia and Allison’s presence in her life—Lydia holding the door open for a giggling Allison, Allison grabbing Lydia’s heavy-looking book bag to go find a seat while Lydia orders—until it was soured. Cora spends her free hours at the gym, pummeling bags full of sand until her bandage-wrapped knuckles ached and sweat stings her eyes. But that still can’t erase Allison’s bright smile and Lydia’s ruby red lips from her mind’s eye. 

Unfortunately, Cora can only afford her impromptu vacation for so long until her siblings threaten to stop force her to sit down and explain her strange behavior. Disgruntled, Cora refuses straightaway. Laura frowns, but allows Cora to man the cash register Wednesday morning. 

It’s just like every other Wednesday, the morning rush having just died down, and Cora almost lets herself believe everything might go back to normal. Until Allison walks through the door. 

Cora stiffens. 

“Can I talk to you?” Allison asks quietly. 

Cora hesitates. She’d much rather bury this all behind her, but at the same time, she thinks Allison deserves to know the truth about Lydia. She nods. “Let’s go sit down. Isaac, cover me for a sec!” 

Isaac sticks his head in from the back where he’d been taking inventory. “Why? What are you—oh.” He shoots a baleful glare at Allison, who juts her chin defiantly right back. “Fine.” 

Sliding into a corner booth, Cora clenches and unclenches her hands nervously. She notices Allison tucking her hair behind her ear anxiously and feels her stomach drop. Maybe Lydia tried to make it sound like Cora came onto her instead of the other way around. Cora feels anger bubble up at the very thought, but decides to at least give Allison a chance to explain before Cora threatens to beat up her girlfriend. 

“I—The other day—” Allison falters, looking frustrated. “I just wanted to apologize for Lydia the other day. She can be a little…” 

“Unfaithful,” Cora says dryly before she can stop herself. 

“I was going to say brash.” 

Cora raises her eyebrows. “Uh, did you miss the part where I just admitted your girlfriend tried to hit on me?” 

“Yeah, but that’s not the problem,” Allison replies. “We have an open relationship. The problem is that her advances clearly made you uncomfortable, so I—” 

“You have a what now?” Cora interrupts, not even feeling bad for her rudeness because dread has started to pool in her gut. 

“An open relationship,” repeats Allison firmly, as if daring Cora to say something. “Either of us can see other people on the side, or we have to consult each other if we want to add someone to our current relationship.” 

“Which is what Lydia was trying to do,” Cora realizes in a hollow voice. “I thought—I didn’t know—I wouldn’t have…” 

Allison gives her a sympathetic look. “It’s not too late if you still want to, you know.” 

“It isn’t?” Cora can't help but perk up. 

“Lydia and I were planning on going to her lake house this weekend,” offers Allison. “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you went instead of me.”

“Really?” 

Allison smiles. “Yeah.” 

* * *

3 months ago, if you’d told Cora Hale that she’d have two beautiful girlfriends as a result of first snubbing one girlfriend and then getting dating advice from the other, Cora would have punched you in your face. In fact, she still will, but not because that statement is wrong. She just likes mixed martial arts. A lot.

Sometimes Lydia trains with her, but mostly Allison is the one who wakes up every morning at 6 to go running with her and then drops Cora off at work. Then Allison goes back to her and Lydia’s apartment to shower and see Lydia before she goes UC Davis, where she’s a professor. At last, Allison leaves for her own job, working with her father for their family firearms business. 

Cora is inordinately pleased that she and her girlfriends have a routine. Laura constantly teases her, and even Derek has finally gotten over the fact Allison’s last name is Argent. But, on the bright side, Isaac finally asked out Scott. 

It all feels like her life is slotting into place. So yeah, Cora Hale doesn’t hate her job anymore. 


End file.
